Chapter 38
"All things come to an end. Even the most chaotic and awful days end sometime."
Fifty-six years ago, Uzumaki Mito sealed the Kyuubi into herself.
Sealing Tailed Beasts had been done before, so the Uzumaki kunoichi had some records of those seals to aid her in her endeavor. Normally they had been sealed into inanimate objects rather than people, though. A few attempts had been done to seal them into humans, but those attempts had ended rather poorly for the would-be host. Inevitably their bodies would be unable to withstand the strain and the seal would break, killing the would-be host and freeing the beast within.
Moreover, none of the Tailed Beasts in those experiments had been as strong as the Nine-Tailed Fox. The greatest one was the Sanbi—the Three-Tailed Turtle—and its host had died within two months of receiving the seal.
Still, even knowing this, Mito chose to seal the fox into herself anyway. She saw no other option to end its rampage under Madara's control, and so she turned her body into a vessel for the demon fox. Her knowledge of previous hosts' fates couldn't prepare her for the sheer agony awaiting her, though.
Adding a volatile chakra like the Nine-Tailed Fox's to an already matured chakra system seemed straining enough on paper, but the reality proved even worse than expected. Corrosive demonic chakra burned through her veins like fire, indescribable agony flooding her as she crawled along the ground of a clearing far from the city.
A lesser woman would have probably perished, losing consciousness from the pain and allowing the seal to break, but not Mito.
Paintbrush in hand, she began etching seals into the ground, her face twisted in firm concentration. For days she toiled on her second masterpiece under the close watch of her husband's most trusted family members. Every night she would rest for a few precious hours in the safety of a tree grown by her beloved husband, the latent traces of his chakra present within the branches soothing the overwhelming agony consuming her just enough to sleep. Then at dawn she would wake up and resume her work once more.
At one point her brother-in-law, Tobirama, tried to offer to take over the work, but Mito slapped his hand away before he could take the brush.
"No," she snarled, her eyes flashing red and her hair rising as she glared at him. "I made this seal, only I can do this."
Two weeks after sealing the Fox inside herself, Mito finally completed her latest masterpiece: a fuinjutsu array specifically designed to fix the jinchuuriki seal. With its completion, the physical pain lessened and she could finally work on adjusting the actual containment seal on her body, trusting the array to correct any errors she may make without the beast breaking free.
Since then, the array had been passed down from generation to generation, maintained and modified by various fuinjutsu masters in the event the jinchuuriki may lose control. Only a few people knew of its existence at a time, even the Third Hokage only being informed about it by Mito after taking the hat. Throughout her life she would continue to tweak with her creation in her free time, adjusting and perfecting it up until the final day before transferring her burden to Kushina.
Kushina spent her first two weeks as a jinchuuriki within that same array as her own coils adapted to her new occupant, and she used that time to study her predecessor's work. Over the coming years she, too, would take up working on the array in her free time, tweaking it periodically. Not too often—she had a busy life running missions outside the village—but when she became pregnant with Naruto and had been forced to stay in Konoha at all times...
Well, she got a bit bored.
As her official assigned bodyguard, that meant Kakashi became one of the very few people to know of the array's existence as well. "Too bad I can't give birth in here," Kushina commented idly to her teenage guard as she sat in the clearing, scribbling theoretical patterns in a notebook. "This thing's pretty much rock solid at this point. We wouldn't have to worry about old fuzzbutt breaking free any time soon, dattebane!"
"Why don't you, then?" the ever-serious Kakashi questioned, and she flashed him a toothy grin as she rubbed her swollen stomach.
"Well, see, childbirth kinda weakens the seal, y'know? So basically, if I tried to give birth in here, the array would act up and, then—blam!" She pounded a fist into her hand. "Baby Naruto gets sealed up too!" Pausing, her smile transformed into a look more akin to idle horror as she began rambling, "What would even happen then, anyway? Would he just get stuck in the seal with the fox? I mean, that's pretty horrible on its own, but what if—"
Long story short, that particular conversation left Kakashi mildly traumatized and very thankful he was not female and would never need to deal with childbirth. He did his best to push that topic to the back of his brain, but the rest of that conversation became relevant once more when the Kyuubi broke loose.
As an infant, Naruto had none of the issues with his chakra coils adapting to the addition of the fox's chakra that his predecessors had, his infant coils absorbing it like a sponge. However, while it had not been necessary then, the array never fully left the Third Hokage's mind. As one of the few people informed about it he assigned Kakashi to be responsible for it in the event of an emergency, which in turn meant that the ANBU team under his command, Team Ro, would also be in charge of it.
In one world, the array would never be used. It would be destroyed along with a large swathe of Konoha in the massive destruction caused by Pain's invasion, nothing but a memory that no one ever truly recalled.
In this world, however, it would unfortunately see one usage before Naruto even left the academy. The incident would be classified, the list of those aware expanding to include three more names, all of whom would forever know the array by the codename "Nine-Ro."
And now, it would see a second usage.
"When I give the signal, use the hand seals I showed you and direct your chakra your into the ground," Kakashi ordered the trio of genin. "The array won't need much, but it will still be a bit more draining than what you're used to, so be ready." The trio stiffened but quickly nodded, raising their hands in the beginning seal with faces full of equal parts resolve and apprehension.
Kakashi took a deep breath as he listened to the giants' battle draw closer, his heart pounding with an unusual harshness when he glimpsed the tanuki's head above the top of the trees. He glanced at Tenzo and made eye contact for a second, and his subordinate gave a small nod. It gave him a subtle sense of reassurance, and he nodded back before yelling, "Go!"
As one all four shinobi began flashing through the sequence Kakashi had hoped to never use again, and slammed their hands onto the ground. Glowing lines appeared through the dirt as their meager chakra reserves began to filter into the ground, triggering a network of intricate seals which quickly rippled around the clearing to form a large circle. The moment Gaara tumbled into it, the earth exploded with a blast of blinding light and he released the most agonized and monstrous screech yet.
Even as the beast staggered Tenzo began flashing through his own sequence of hand seals, causing wooden pillars to sprout and bind Gaara to the ground just before he began writhing. Truth be told, the seal array did not require a mokuton user, but it made things easier. Usually the apparatus caused an unbearable amount of pain which tended to cause a lot of struggling—and of course, a tailed beast struggling meant a lot of damage.
Given the fact that the array had been specifically designed for the seals used on the three Kyuubi jinchuuriki rather than Gaara's obviously shoddy mess, his response would probably be even more painful.
The earth rumbled as the giant monster thrashed violently against its restraints, its agonized wails no doubt sounding all across Konoha. Tenzo clenched his jaw tight as he funneled more chakra into the wooden constructs so they wouldn't break under the might of its struggles, willing it to overpower the volatile energy Shukaku exerted. Temari and Kankurou winced as Gaara released another roar, shooting Kakashi a panicked look, but Sakura...
Sakura just seemed awestruck.
...Why did Kakashi suddenly feel worried?
He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the sight in front of him, watching as glowing seals steadily crept up Gaara's sand shell. Frankly, this was a big gamble, but already he could see glowing markings climb the sides of the sand beast, attempting to tame the unfamiliar seal. As they began to prod his chakra Gaara released another screech, this one echoing far beyond Konoha's walls.
The first sign that Orochimaru's plans had started to fall apart came when the barrier vanished.
The second sunlight spilled through the trees—bright and unfiltered by the dark, miasma-like violet material of the barrier—he knew that something had gone horribly wrong. Breaking it externally would be nearly impossible, which meant one of his guards must have been slain. The Sound Four hardly mattered in the long run, but losing one of his pawns so abruptly grated on Orochimaru's nerves.
When the barrier fell he'd been watching his old teacher and that Rain kunoichi team up against the First Hokage, so that meant the culprit must be the ANBU who had ventured off to fight the Second. The thought made his lips curl with distaste, twisting his torso to look at the fading barrier—
—and felt a blade sharply slide into his side.
Pain exploded in his torso as he instinctively leapt away, the sword blade ripping through his flesh and leaving a large, gory gash in the process. Senju Tobirama stood with a disdainful glower on his face, clutching the bloodied katana with both hands. "What a shame," he remarked flatly. "That was meant to strike your heart."
Orochimaru hissed in pain as he pressed a hand to his side, his white fingers quickly stained red as fresh blood seeped from the wound. "How?" he hissed, glaring venomously at the reanimated Hokage. How had he broken free? He hadn't felt his mind-control seal loosen, the man shouldn't be conscious. Moreover, where did that sword come from?
"You placed me with a rather bad opponent," Tobirama replied cryptically. "We had a rather... enlightening, conversation." Orochimaru growled and opened his mouth to respond only to gasp, pressing against the wound with a wince. Cuts usually didn't bother him too much, but this one felt more painful than usual. He couldn't feel any of the telltale symptoms of poison though, and the thought prompted his gaze to turn to the Hokage's new weapon.
Glowing ciphers covered the surface of the silver katana, making his eyes narrow warily. He had no idea what those seals did, but he had a feeling it meant this wound would be far more troublesome than the average one.
He couldn't analyze it for long before Tobirama sheathed the blade and turned to where his brother battled the others, apparently assured Orochimaru wouldn't be an immediate threat. He wasn't wrong; the pain nearly blinded Orochimaru, causing spots to dance across his vision.
Right now, the situation did not look good. While Orochimaru had perfected it, Senju Tobirama had invented the Edo Tensei. If anyone would know ways to circumvent it, it would be him. Sure enough, the former Hokage appeared behind his brother almost instantaneously—probably using Hiraishin, though the agony dulled Orochimaru's usually keen senses so he couldn't see if he did use it—and slammed his hand on the back of his neck, causing Hashirama to lurch and stagger a few steps.
"Tobirama?" he gasped, and Orochimaru grimaced, his muscles locking up.
Shit. Not good.
Ignoring the pain, he tore his hands away from the wound and began flashing through a brief sequence of hand seals. He flashed the last one just as the two Senju brothers turned to him with twin looks of fury, and bright light consumed their bodies. As it faded the corpses of two Sound ninja fell to the tile, rolling over to stare lifelessly at the sky.
The sight of the bodies did not satisfy Hiruzen. No, if anything it enraged him even more, his killing intent spiking to an all-time high. "OROCHIMARUUUU!" he roared, and the Sannin winced, his hand already clutching the still-bleeding wound. Still, his lips curled into a smirk, his eyes flashing with bitter contempt.
"Sorry, sensei, but it appears we'll have to postpone our reunion for another time," he purred, and then slammed a bloodied hand against the tile to summon one of his larger snakes. The serpent's jaws unhinged to swallow him up as it puffed into existence, darting away with the injured Sannin curled in its mouth.
Just before its mouth closed, however, he saw a giant ray of light shoot high into the sky, accompanied by the most unearthly roar yet.
At that moment, Orochimaru knew without a doubt the rest of the invasion would fail. He cursed silently, and then hissed when he unintentionally squeezed his wound in his aggravation. Everything had gone wrong, beyond his control.
Suddenly the snake lurched to a stop, nearly throwing him onto his side. As he righted himself the snake released an agonized shriek which reverberated through its entire body, and then—
Black flames penetrated its side, eating through the fleshy walls of its mouth and swiftly spreading to Orochimaru's feet.
A single line of blood trickled from Itachi's right eye as he watched the snake burn, its dying shrieks mingling with the agonized screams of the Sannin inside its mouth and echoing loudly over the roar of the Ichibi. Replacing his borrowed hawk mask, he turned and fled just as the Hokage and Konan arrived on the scene, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
"The hell?" Shikamaru sputtered, freezing in shock as he listened to the roar. Next to him Chouji winced and paled, starting to shake as he pressed closer to the floor.
"Th-that... That's not good, is it?" he whispered, and for once Shikamaru couldn't respond because he really had no idea. Ahead of them Ino hissed in frustration, her eyes hardening as she resumed crawling between the seats.
"Find shinobi, wake them up, spread the message," she chanted under her breath, repeating her father's orders like a mantra to try to block out the monstrous roar. Trying to block out the sounds of metal clashing as the battle resumed around them, the vision of sightless black eyes with the long row of legs of sleeping audience members stretched before her, the smell of bloodshed mingling with the faint lilac perfume she'd sprayed on that morning expecting a peaceful day.
Yamanaka Ino had seen war, and she would never be the same.
Elsewhere in the village, Kabuto mentally cursed as he hid in the shadows of the alley, blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched his limp arm. Healing would have to wait, using any chakra could alert the horde of Leaf ninja searching the nearby street to his presence. He pressed closer to the wall as he saw the shadow of an ANBU agent pass by, holding his breath until they disappeared from his senses.
From his vantage point he could see the roof of the stadium now noticeably devoid of the purple barrier, and he strongly suspected Orochimaru had not ordered it dispelled. Had the Ichibi not been screaming, he would have heard the death throes of his master's summon and realized the situation to be even worse. As it stood, even without that knowledge, Kabuto could tell the invasion had gone horribly awry.
From the second he launched the Temple of Nirvana jutsu, everything seemed to go wrong. In retrospect, even the fact he'd used that technique had been a signal that it would not be smooth. Originally they'd planned to launch the invasion during Gaara's match with Sasuke, so that he could release the Shukaku in the center of Konoha and cause maximum damage. After Sasuke suddenly departed though, Gaara had grown increasingly unstable. Kabuto had opted to cast the genjutsu when he realized the jinchuuriki would almost certainly abandon his role so he could search for his intended opponent, and sure enough Gaara had left within seconds of casting it.
Still, while the beginning had been bumpy, he hadn't expected things to go wrong so fast. During the invasion he'd been tasked with locating Uchiha Sasuke and capturing him, but before he could even leave the stadium Kabuto found himself ambushed by a large pack of ANBU agents.
Worse yet, more ninja started to join in on the attack as the battle carried on. Kabuto had not expected Gekko Hayate to briefly abandon his own fight while running past him, which resulted in the slash on his arm. Nor had he expected a female ANBU to break away from the group of civilians she'd been helping escort to fling herself at him, joining in the efforts to capture him.
His lips pressed into a firm line as he listened to some of their footsteps draw away from his hiding spot. He had no idea when it happened, as he'd been especially careful to cover his tracks over the past month, but his cover had clearly been compromised. He had no idea how many people knew his identity, severely limiting his ability to move freely, but in the end the number didn't matter.
Weighing his options, he made up his mind and made his way towards the edge of the village. Lord Orochimaru would be displeased with his failure, but as it stood Kabuto had too many eyes watching him. Finding Sasuke under these circumstances without any leads would take far too long, he could make amends later. For now, he would focus on escaping.
The ongoing fray made it relatively easy for Itachi to cross the village while avoiding detection, ultimately slipping into a trapdoor hidden in the basement of a dilapidated house to enter a long tunnel system. Sagging against the walls tiredly, he tore off the mask and slumped to the ground, allowing his exhaustion to finally exert its claim on him. His eyes slid shut and his head lolled to the side to rest on his shoulder, the muffled roars of the Ichibi fading away as his thoughts began to slow.
Just before sleep could claim him he felt a familiar presence appear within the tunnels, nearly mute footsteps gliding towards him before he heard the quiet shifting of fabric. "You've been quite busy today, haven't you, Itachi-san?"
Itachi grunted softly in response, not bothering to open his eyes. "I defeated Orochimaru," he murmured quietly. "Is that not enough for you, Madara-san?" The elder Uchiha made a deep rumbling sound which could be construed as approval.
"I am pleased, make no mistake. However, you pushed yourself quite far." His voice took on a reprimanding tone, and Itachi didn't bother responding because it was true. He'd pushed the Tsukuyomi further than usual, ultimately compressing five days into the span of three seconds, and he could feel the effects. Combined with the strain of using the Amaterasu, he wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and succumb to sleep.
Obviously his "ancestor" would not leave him in peace, though. Reluctantly he parted his eyelids to find the increasingly-familiar swirling orange mask mere inches away from him as the elder crouched in front of him. The close proximity gave him goose bumps and set him on edge, but at the same time he felt too exhausted to particularly care. "What do you want, Madara?" he questioned tiredly.
"I just want to offer to take you away," his relative replied blithely. "Sleeping in a tunnel is hardly comfortable. There are plenty of inns outside the village with beds. All you have to do is say the word."
A bed sounded heavenly right now, Itachi wouldn't lie. Even during his travels with Kisame they spent most of their time camping, so he did not get many opportunities to sleep in actual beds. Curling up on a soft mattress, nestled in the warmth of actual, freshly-washed blankets—the offer definitely tempted him. However, he had never been one to give into material comforts so easily.
"I can't," he replied simply, his eyes shutting once more. "I still have work to do."
"Sasuke?" the other guessed, and Itachi didn't bother responding. Right now more than anything he wanted to find Sasuke and make sure he was okay; he'd seen enough before joining the fray to figure out Gaara likely wanted to fight his little brother. Obviously, his current exhaustion would not allow him that, though.
His mind flitted back to the Tsukuyomi, the long talks with Senju Tobirama between working on the counter-seal. "Have a mission," he mumbled sleepily. "Can't leave until I finish it."
"Will it interfere with the Akatsuki's directives?"
"No." If anything, Itachi suspected the Akatsuki would approve of the task, though he lacked the energy to go into any proper details. His relative seemed to sense this, because he did not probe for further information.
Instead, Itachi felt something warm envelop his body, and his eyes opened fractionally to find a blanket had been draped over him. The other Uchiha waved a glove hand and a pillow spiraled into existence, dropping to the dirt with a limp plop. "Sleep. I'll give you a week to finish your business, and I expect a full report when you do."
The air warped around the other man and his body disappeared into a spiral, and just like that Itachi suddenly found himself alone. Relieved at the reprieve, he allowed himself to fall to the side and let his head hit the pillow, his eyes shutting a final time. Later he would question the sudden show of kindness and apparent concern on the other Uchiha's part, but for now he just succumbed to the welcoming embrace of darkness.
Deep within the woods near the edge of Konoha Kiba winced and shielded his ears, cursing loudly even though he couldn't hear his own voice over the roaring. Canine-level hearing really backfired sometimes, and the proximity to the source made it worse than usual. Poor Akamaru had it even worse than him; his partner couldn't even move, just cringing and trembling where he stood.
"Come on, buddy," he muttered, scooping up his partner in his arms. He continued to trudge onwards, trying to ignore the throbbing in his ears. Right now, he had bigger priorities he simply couldn't ignore. Namely, Hinata. The distantly familiar citrus scent had faded a while back, but her lavender body soap and lilac shampoo had only grown stronger with each step. Hinata was close, he could feel it, and his pace picked up until he spied a familiar flash of tan through a gap in the trees.
"HINATA!" he called, racing towards her. The girl in question startled and whirled to face him, her pale eyes wide with shock.
"K-Kiba-kun?" she stuttered, her quiet voice barely audible over the continued wailing in the background. He shook his head and tried to ignore the sound as he focused on his teammate, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Hinata, what's going on?" he demanded. "What are you doing all the way out here? Why did you leave the stadium? And who were you with earlier!?" She winced at the barrage of questions, her face averting shamefully to the ground.
"I... Th-that, that is..." She trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut with a small whimper. Kiba's face softened at her obvious discomfort, approaching her with a more gentle look instead of the panicked and furious frown he'd worn earlier.
"Hinata," he said carefully. "I'm sorry if I sound harsh. I'm just—I was just really worried, ya know?" He stepped forward, pressing a hand to her shoulder. "I don't know what went down, but I don't care. I'm just relieved you're okay. I'm on your side, no matter what. Got it?" Blinking in surprise, Hinata looked at his hand and then his face, and after a moment she smiled feebly.
"I... Y-yes, I get it. Thank you, Kiba." Kiba flashed her a toothy grin of his own and pulled away, his hand sliding to clasp hers instead.
"Come on, let's go back to town," he said, turning away. "That roaring is really starting to hurt my ears. I don't think Akamaru's doin' too well either." He glanced at his partner as he spoke, the small canine curled into a tight ball against Kiba's chest as the boy clutched him close with his free arm. Hinata offered the shivering puppy a sympathetic look.
"R-right. Let's... l-let's go." If she seemed strangely hesitant, Kiba decided not to comment, instead choosing to just focus on his relief that she was okay, that she wasn't hurt or in obvious distress.
Today had been so crazy and messed-up, so much had happened in a short time and Hinata's disappearance and the whole "Nine-Ro" thing—he had far too many questions with no answers. Finding Hinata safe and sound overrode any concerns he might have though, and so Kiba decided to refrain from asking any questions as he led her away, even the overwhelming urgent one about the citrus-y scent which had accompanied hers for so long.
As he led her away, he failed to notice Hinata twist her head to look over her shoulder, her pale eyes skimming the trees before settling on a cloaked figure with a red mask. The man gave her a small nod and vanished without so much as a flicker, and Hinata swallowed harshly before turning to focus on her teammate's back once more.
With this, the Chuunin Exams Arc is finally at an end!
There is technically one more chapter to tie up a certain loose end, but otherwise this arc is done and finished. Now that it's finally done, there's a lot I want to say about this arc. Writing it has been a royal pain, and has gone through NUMEROUS rewrites. I'm particularly pleased with Nine-Ro. I didn't want it to be a machination created and/or fueled by OCs. I wanted it to be an actual canon-compliant possibility and not some convenient plot device pulled out of thin air. I'm satisfied that I accomplished that. So much happened overall though, and this chapter has had so many important events. Nine-Ro has been revealed, Orochimaru's fate is pretty much sealed, Kabuto has no idea, Gekko Hayate is alive, Itachi got a brief visit from Obito, and Hinata... Well. She's met someone interesting.
Here's a fun list of ideas that ALMOST got used, including some that actually got written and discarded:
-Kabuto would have told Masaru about Akari's death instead of Gaara, to try to persuade him into defecting. He also would have told Hinata at the same time, hoping for similar effects. Instead he'd get a fiery punch to the stomach courtesy of one pissed-off Masaru.
-Hinata almost ran into Konan, and had a breakdown apologizing for hurting the Rain genin. (I have seriously broken that poor girl in this story, I did not intend for that.)
-Originally Masaru didn't leave with Kiba, but split off later when Kakashi noticed the Sound ninja. I changed it due to the choice to leave a single genin to fight six enemies being out of character for Kakashi.
-On that note, I almost discarded that fight entirely in favor of Masaru and Kiba finding Hinata together. The results would have been... different.
-At one point I had Deidara and Sasori fighting the invasion outside the village as support for Konan and Itachi. There was even a signal set up to alert Konan by sending clay birds in a certain formation. Obito and Zetsu were there too, though they didn't participate directly.
-Related to the above point: originally, the Sound ninja knocked Masaru out. Obito stumbled upon the scene, and was not very happy.
-Never written, but I played with having Tsunade secretly return to Konoha early and join the fight against Orochimaru. The ANBU who healed everyone right before the invasion was written as a potential placeholder for a disguised Shizune.
-There's a more detailed scene of Ino going through the stands. I ultimately cut it for length, but I'll probably include it as a flashback soon.
-Shino and Chouji worked together briefly fighting off invaders in the streets. Discarded for various reasons.
-I almost had a secret task force dedicated to preventing the invasion, including Tenzo, Kakashi and even Shibuki and Konan. Shibuki's early departure would have been an excuse to go secretly meet the others, and I played with Konan leaving with him.
-Related to above: Kakashi ALMOST patrolled as Sukea, and would run into his good old "friend" Whatshisname. Cut for character overload, and had him briefly encounter Itachi instead. That encounter almost had a slightly... different ending.
-Itachi was originally supposed to be Arata, but I decided to make them separate characters for reasons, including the above brief encounter with Kakashi.
-The battle with Orochimaru had several variations. Among them: Whatshisname briefly appeared and left the counter seal for Itachi to use on the Second before popping out. One vague idea had Kakashi use Kamui from outside the barrier to do... something. Maybe kill one of the guards. A variation with a darker ending: the Third ordered Itachi to reveal himself to fight Orochimaru, and then had Itachi kill him to help maintain his cover in front of Konan.
-Whatshisname REALLY wanted to make an appearance in this arc, and almost ran into Tenzo and helpfully escorted him to the site of Nine-Ro. I am actually still very disappointed this scene had to be cut, because I couldn't think of a way to feature it after deciding to have Masaru meet Gaara.
There are even more ideas I discarded, but I can't remember them all, and a few of them can't be mentioned due to spoilers. So I think you can see why I say this was so difficult.
With all that said, please, please, PLEASE leave a review/comment! This was one of the most difficult story arcs I've written to date, and I'd LOVE to hear your final thoughts on it.
